clumping litter with natural cedar, pine, and corn. there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin used to help control high blood sugar when you eat. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. you should eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injecting novolog® (insulin aspart [rdna origin] injection). do not use if your blood sugar is too low, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your health care provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions and low potassium in your blood. tell your health care provider about all medicines you take

and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. flexpen® is insulin delivery my way. covered by most insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay cost at myflexpen.com. ask your health care provider about novolog® flexpen today [ female announcer ] stress sweat is different than ordinary sweat. it smells worse. get 4x the protection against stress sweat. introducing new secret clinical strength stress response scent. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day.

advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. a good saturday afternoon, i'm craig melvin. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. >> i am not remotely cool enough to be sarah palin. >> a surprise at cpac, the keynote speaker, ted cruz, introduces sarah palin and the mama grizzly doesn't disappoint, she threw a lot of red meat to

the base on everything from gun control to president obama. >> more background checks, dandy idea, mr. president. should have started with yours. the president's pressing the new energy strategy in his weekly address. >> free our families and our business from painful spikes in gas prices once and for all. >> we will ask a former energy secretary if it will work. first though, our political headlines. wisconsin republican governor scott walker tells politico he is open to a presidential bid and will not pledge to serve a full four-year term as governor if he is re-elected next year. he told politico his focus is on substance, not longevity. walker is in maryland today also speaking at cpac. former new york congressman anthony weiner may be planning a political come back. the new york democrat recently spent more than $100,000 on

polls and consultants. weiner, of course, resigned in 2011 when a suggestive photo that he tweeted became public. which public office he might be considering that is later in the program today. and secretary of defense chuck hagel said the united states will deploy a $1 billion anti-missile defense system along the pacific coast to counter a growing missile threat from north korea. >> north korea, in particular, has recently made advances in its capabilities and has engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations. and minnesota republican congresswoman michele bachmann she spoke at cpac this morning, criticized what she called the extravagances of the obama white house. >> we are also the ones who are paying for someone to walk the president's dog, paying for someone to walk the president's dog? now, why are we doing that when we can't even get a disabled

veteran into the white house for a white house tour? and in just a few minutes from now, saratoga springs, utah, mayor mia love will be delivering a major address to cpac conservatives. last fall, she was one of the featured speakers at the republican national convention as a candidate for congress. if she won, she would have been the first black female ever elected to congress as republican but she lost that race by a narrow mar jane, about 1%. mayor mia love joins me now from the cpac convention. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you are -- >> i can't see you. good to hear you. >> you are not missing much. you're going to be speaking there in a few minutes, i understand. what do you plan to say? >> well, i plan to just get the american public involved again. i'm not going to bash what is going on in washington. what i'm going too do, i'm going to get as many people as possible engaged and involved in

that pros pros is he is. i believe it will take people from the ground up to heal this nation. what we are doing right now is not working. i'm going to try to get as many people inspired and believe in their ability to restore this country. >> so you're not going give me specifics on the speech, i take it? >> well, i'm sure you're gonna hear it but that's pretty much it. that's it. >> you fell short in november, despite, you know, high profile and high power. mitt romney top of the ticket. he did better in utah than anywhere else in this country. why do you think you lost? >> you know, there are a lot, we came within 768 votes, you can look at a lot of things. we have learned a lot from that race. we expected a lot more people to come out for mitt romney and that didn't happen, but this is not a person that sun beatable, we will see what happens, we will keep our options open and look at it. >> sounds like you're running again. >> i don't know.

we will see. we are keeping our options open, haven't made any formal announcements, we will see it will be up to my family and certainly utah. >> who has been the crowd favorite at cpac so far this year? >> i'm sorry? >> the crowd favorite so far at cpac who has been the crowd favorite and/or your favorite? >> you know, i haven't listened to very much of t of course, i always love to hear mitt romney spaep speak. i think's great -- a great guy, a great leader. and so, you know, i will get home and we will hear all the buzz about it over the week. so we will wait and see. >> about a dozen of the speakers at cpac this year are african-american. how does the conservative movement expect to gain more minority support next cycle? >> the problems we face in america are not black, issue, white issues, they are not gender issues they are american

issues. we have to get to everyone and tell them that conservative principles are principles that will make everyone's lives better this long run and we have to make sure we keep the promises we need people here today and keep the promises we made to our children. so this is not just about a white/black issue you it's not just about, you know, some of these social issues, it's about really restoring this country so that we have a country to look forward to in the next 2, 300 years. >> why don't you think that message to this point, has resonated with a large chunk of the folks in this country who look like me and you? >> well, you know, i'm not sure if the right type of leaders delivering the right type of messages. again, i want to make sure that we are into the looking to washington to solve all of our problems. we have to get engaged. >> sounds like you're saying it's the messengers and not the message? >> i didn't even hear the last thing you said. it's a little muffled. i'm working really hard to hear

what you're saying. >> that's okay. we are going to have to leave it there. mia love. thank you so much for spending time with you. >> nice to see you, by the way, we have got a race that's 198 miles and welcome you to come in and join our team, love to have you come in, i'm going to send you an invitation so you can run with me. >> you send me an invite, i will try to get back out there and run if my back's not boring me. >> i hope you have been working out, buddy. waiting for you to come to utah. >> all of a sudden, we lose our connection there thank you so much. good to see you. >> thank you. the cpac conference wrapping up today, but it certainly is going out on an energized note. this is what former alaska governor sarah pail-to slin had a short time ago to critics who say the gop needs rebranding. take a list un. >> we are not here to put a fresh coat of rhetorical paint on our party. we are not here to abandon our principles in a contest of government giveaways, that's game we will never, ever win. we are here to restore america

and the rest is just thee at tricks, the rest is sound and fury. it's just making noise. and that sums up the job president obama does today. now, he is considered a good politician, which is like saying bernie madoff was a good salesman. the difference being the president using our money. >> joining me now, from washington, ed o'keefe of the "washington post" and at cpac, national harbor, maryland, msnbc's dave weigle who, of course, also writes for the slate. dave, i'm going to start with you, i have been enjoying your blog, blogging from cpac, how did sarah palin's speech go over there? >> it went over very well. this is a crowd that always adored her. always identified with what they feel was an unfair and cruel treatment from the media. you saw that when ted cruz, who was seen as the republican party future thought it necessary to come out and take a little bit

of the glory from sarah palin's reputation. it was also a little bit contradictory though, because one of the themes from speeches earlier in the day or the week has been republicans need to stop being the stupid party. palin's big moment, everyone agreed and pulled out their phone to capture was drinking from big gulp. people like her for things like that but it's a little bit hard to square with the rest of the message here. >> ed, made your point that palin seemed to be making is that the gop does not need rebranding but on issues like immigration and same-sex marriage, it seems like the republican party is sort of starting to -- sort of starting to taken a inward look at where they stand. how prominent of a player is sarah palin at this point? >> i think if you're a republican worried about the future, you should be more concerned about what mia love is doing and saying, your last guest, than what sarah palin is doing and saying. i was actually kind of struck by what mia love said to you there about the need to find more people, more minorities,

basically, to join the party or at least be wooed by it. sarah palin is not the person to do that. she sits there and talks about the fact they don't need to rebrand the party. that completely runs counter to what most national republican leaders and others across the country have been saying is necessary, is they need to go out and find a new way to sell their ideas and not necessarily change their ideas but just make it clear to these different populations that they are a party they should consider. cpac isn't necessarily the way or the place to do that and so i -- i don't necessarily think that this is a helpful exercise for all of them, a great chance for republicans to come, practice some talking points, score some rhetorical slam dunks, beyond that, this isn't necessarily the way to work on expanding the base. >> dave weigle, outside that room in maryland, it really does seem as if sarah palin has become a pretty much a sideshow. >> it does, the party has looked on. after palin spoke, a little after she spoke, there was a

gear ing of ten republicans who people like us in d.c. haven't paid a lot attention to, state legislators in connecticut and arizona, heavy emphasis on the non-white members of the party who can speak, you know, convincingly about how republicans appeal to them as young -- as non-white conservatives, as the children of immigrants. newt gingrich earlier today, not somebody you would associate with this, the difference between whether republicans should change their principles or have new ideas. no principles are the same. let's continue quoting ronald reagan at every opportunity, basically, we need to have new ideas and need to have a new sheen on everything. that is the theme. not hearing anything here about what the republican party should abandon beyond, it should be less awkward than mitt romney at politics. >> switch gears quickly, wrote this week about the president's efforts to work with democrats and republicans on the hill this week, you wrote in part "republican senators have been a particular target of obama's so called charm offensive as a handful of members have

expressed a new willingness to accept new revenues as part of a broad debt deal. house republicans are deeply opposed." so, how is anything going to get done at this point? >> i think the message from senate republicans especially, a group he is going to need no matter what, was as long as he stays engaged, as long as he keeps coming to visit us, invites us over to the white house for beers or to another dinner, we will keep talking to him. a lot of member he is who got to spend time with the president this week are genuinely impressed the fact he came to talk to them, talked specific, into the weeds on several different issues and said if that keeps up, i'm following play ball with him. i think the challenge there is you have senators and some house republicans willing to do that, but then you have people, where dave is at cpac who don't want to hear that any republican is negotiate become the president. they will face difficult decisions if, indeed, the president continues to play ball with them. >> ed o'keefe from the "washington post" and from cpac,

dave while who is undoubtedly a crowd favorite there at national harbor, slate magazine and msnbc contributor. good to see you. don't forget to blog again today. >> i won't. that's all i can do. the president's noon get us off oil, plus north korea's bluster and our anti-missile buildup. former energy secretary and ambassador to the united nations, bill richardson is standing by to talk about it. also, senator rob portman's stunning reversal on same-sex marriage, what they are saying about that at cpac. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve.

♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. ♪ try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. it fills you with energy... and it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. in a convenient two bar pack. this is nature valley. nature at its most delicious. [ male announcer ] why do more emergency workers everywhere trust duracell...?? duralock power preserve. locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. now...guaranteed.

duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere. believe i'm just glitz and glam when i'm so much more. i'm downtown and ocean front. my nights are just as busy as my days. the arts are my passion. food my obsession. and when you finally think you know me. you'll realize, there's still so much more to discover. los angeles. endlessly entertaining.

plan your getaway at discoverlosangeles.com the only way to really break

this cycle of spiking gas prices, its only way to break that cycle for good is to shift our cars entirely. our cars and trucks off oil. that's why in my state of the union address, i called on congress to set up an energy security trust to fund research into new technologies that will help us reach that goal. >> that was president obama yesterday in illinois, calling on congress again to create that energy security trust. the president wants to used 2 billion from oil revenues on research for cheaper, cleaner fuels and the thinking is -- the thinking is this, in turn, this would protect american families from spikes in gas prices and allow us to run cars and trucks on electricity or home-grown fuels. joining me now, former new york -- former new mexico governor bill richardson who served as energy security under president clinton and also former ambassador to the united nations as well. good to see you, sir. how realistic is it that the president is going to get congress to create this energy

security trust? >> i think the chances are good. this is a proposal by some business executives, military leaders. it's in the transportation sector, craig, so it doesn't get into the debate between oil and gas and renewable, solar and wind. so i think it stands a good chance. i think it is clear we need to move toward electric vehicles. this research into biofuels, into this battery technology, is positive. >> yeah. >> i think you're seeing the trend toward electric gas and natural vehicles get strong and stronger. >> secretary of defense chuck hagel saying yesterday we are now bolstering our missile defense against north korea, increasing the number of ground-based intercepters in california and alaska to 44 from 30 by 2017. does such a serious investment

indicate a serious danger as well? >> well, i think the secretary of defense is doing the right thing, getting us prepared. i do think the north koreans are increasing their bluster, but what's -- what's a little difficult to understand, craig, is this new north korean leader, the young man, he is untested. it sun predictable. it looks like the hardliners in north korea have gotten his ear and that's little dangerous. that's not good. because the rhetoric is the most heated that i've ever seen. >> ever? >> that's right. i think eventually, we're going to need a dialogue with these guys, but for now the danger is a little conflagration with south korea, you know, a miscalculation on the north koreans' part. but their rhetoric is so bellicose that i wonder whether this young man realizes that

what he's doing is really putting north korea in a corner in a very isolated stage. >> why is china even to this point, been able to rein in north korea? >> well, i don't think china wants to help us out on this security issue. they are the ones with the leverage, they provide food, fuel, energy to north korea. the good news is that china did participate in that security security council resolution that squeezes north korea with some serious banking sanctions, travel of the regime, financial resources of the leadership. maybe china is shifting a little bit saying, hey, we got to put some clamps on these guys. >> i want to talk to you really quickly, before i let you go, about immigration, hot topic on the hill these days, many prominent speakers at cpac, which is going on right now you they dodged the topic. marco rubio, kelly ayotte, rand paul, among a few of the big-name speakers to talk about

it in depth was donald trump. take a listen. >> the 11 million illegals, even if given the right to vote you know, your going to have to do what's right, but the fact is 11 million people will be voting democratic. you can be out front, you can be the spear head, you can do whatever you want to do but every one of those 11 million people will be voting democratic, just wait it works. >> that the way it works, bill richardson? >> no. i don't know why donald trump gets so much coverage because he makes no sense. the best statistic us in a presidential race are around 65 to 70% does go to the presidential candidate. george bush, western he was elected, got 44% that's wrong.

i think hispanics are, for instance you not like an afro-american vote, they vote in a block. and you have to some conservative hispanics, cuban-americans, others. i think the hispanic vote, yeah, is decidedly democratic, but to say that you're gonna get 11 million democratic votes is ludicrous. i think what's happening is the more conservative tea party types, like at cpac, are avoiding the issue 'cause they don't want to move on immigration and this eventually going to hurt the republican party, they took a real beating with the hispanic vote 71% went to president obama and if they want to stay a major party in america and win national races, presidential races, take over the senate, they are going to have to do a massive shift on immigration that is balanced. looks like people at cpac and tea party are not interested in doing that >> former ambassador and governor and secretary bill richardson. thank you, sir, good to see you. >> thank you, craig, all the

best. rapper lil wayne had a seizure, he's in the hospital right now, but apparently feeling well enough to tweet. what he said and how he's doing in just a few moments. also, why is senator mitch mcconnell comparing couple of democrats to the golden girl you you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. s 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

it's just common sense. feby earning your degree fromore racapella university,re. you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu.

the longest 4g lte battery in a razr thin profile. with 32 hours of battery life that turns an all-nighter, into a two-nighter. the droid razr maxx hd by motorola.

droid-endurance. droid-powerful. don't tell me democrats are the party of the future when their presidential ticket of 2016 is shaping up to long like a rerun of "the golden girls." we got rand paul. we got marco rubio. we got paul ryan. and the other guys, they got hillary and joe biden. >> yikes. that's senate minority leader mitch mcconnell yesterday poking fun at the democrats, leading contender for 2016. the come, as you might imagine, ruffled feathers, even in his

own statement kentucky's democratic party chairman wants mcconn toll apologize. an into the political playground we go. talk about turning an awkward tv moment into a moneymaker, senator marco rubio's political action committee is selling water bottles with his name on them at cpac this weekend. as you can see, they are charging $25 a bottle. if you remember, rubio made that memorable lung for his water bottle in his middle of the state of union rebuttal last month. and it sounds like a reality show but actually the white house kicking off a new audio series called "beinged ed "beie a listen. >> a couple guys in their hunting shirts i'm serving a meal to, along with folks you see in the background. >> the white house says the idea is for people to know the story behind the pictures in the vice president's own words. so listeners will finally get a chance to hear what it's like to be joe biden from the man himself. he spent $100 grand for

pulling in research, does that mean famous tweeter and former congressman anthony weiner is staging a come back? senator rob portman might be embracing same-sex marriage but cpac did not invite a key group representing gay republicans. we will talk to the group not invooet vited to the party. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. ited to the you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. ned a new w. ♪ i have direct deposit on my visa prepaid. my paycheck is loaded right on my card. automatic. i am not going downtown standing in line to cash it. i know where my money is, because it is in my pocket. i got more time with my daughter, we got places to go. [ freeman ] go open a new world, with visa prepaid. more people go with visa.

feel like you're growing older... waiting to look younger? don't wait.

[ female announcer ] get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. the next generation with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. it penetrates rapidly. visible wrinkle results start day 1. and you'll see younger looking skin before you even finish one jar. ♪ new olay regenerist. the wait is over. you are looking at images of pope francis in rome earlier today. it was his first time talking to the press since being elected pope wednesday. francis spoke to about 5,000 journalists. the newly elected pontiff charmed the crowd, telling the reporters gathered that he knows they have been working very hard all week. good saturday to you, i'm craig melvin. here is a look at the other top stories making news now. two people are dead, three seriously hurt in central pennsylvania.

their bus crashed earlier today on a freeway. the bus was carrying players and coaches from seton hill university's women's lacrosse team. three astronauts back on solid ground today, wrapped up a 144-day mission to the international space station. an american and two russians landeder think morning in kazakhstan. the health scare for lil wayne. the a st. reporting the 30-year-old rapper was hospitalized in los angeles yesterday, apparently had a seizure, but last night, this tweet from the rapper's account. "i'm good, everybody. thanks for the prayers and love." back to politics now. republican senator rob portman from ohio really sent shockwaves through the gop establishment yesterday when he announced he has a gay son and now supports same-sex marriage. take a listen. is >> i have come to the conclusion that for me, personally, i think

this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married and to have the joy and the stability of marriage that i have had for over 26 years. i want all three of my kids to have it, including our son, who is gay. >> portman co-sponsored dome marks the defense of marriage act in 2006, that is in front of the supreme court. joining me snout founder of go proud a group for gay republicans which incidentally was not invited to cpac this year. jimmy, good to see you. >> hey, craig, thanks for having me back. >> how much of a watershed moment was portman's announcement in republican politics? >> well, i think that it is a great example of what's happening all across the country among all americans and including conservatives and people are thinking about how this issue affects their friends and family and everybody has a gay person in their life. i thought his statement was a beautiful statement from a

father about his son and how he brought him to that conclusion and how he wants his son to be happy. and i know from my experience in talking to conservatives, they are more and more thinking about that because their conservative values bring them to that conclusion. >> how much of it also, jimmy, is it about the politics of the it? how much of this do you think is finally republicans realizing, you know what, we can pick up a lot more votes in certain parts of this country especially if we soften our stance on certain social issues, especially issues related to the gay community? >> it is certainly a different political reality now it is not 2004 anymore. we just saw in the last election where four states voted in favor of same-sex marriage and it's certainly a different political reality. and people are talking about how issues affect gay people so more and more issues are coming out,

they think about it more, think about their friends and their family, so if republicans don't talk about how issues affect gay people, then they will continue to look out of touch. >> your group, of course, go proud, not invited to cpac, it has been widely reported but you did speak at a panel of another group in the same hotel at the same time as cpac. i imagine there was crossover aten dis. how did it go? >> it went well. issues affecting gay people are at the forefront and there was some outrage we weren't invited to program. as we look to build a modern, conservative coalition it has to include gay conservatives. we had a panel sponsored by the competitive enterprise institute that was to a packed house, couldn't fit another person in there. and, it was, i think, one of the most widely attended events in the hotel just the other day and people want to talk about these

issues and show that they are thinking about how issues affect gay people in a different way. >> jimmy lasalle very ya, go proud. thanks, jimmy. thanks again for joining me. >> have a good day. marriage, mitt romney and moderates, all hot topics in maryland right now at the cpac conference. it's wrapping up today. we have got lots to talk about in the war room. so let's get right to it. democratic strategist richard goodstein from cpac, former deputy assistant to president george w. bush, matt shah lap, good to see you both ask. >> great to be here. >> matt, we will start with you. politico has a big story up about how same-sex marriage is kind of being skirted around on stage at cpac. maggie haberman writing in part, "the relative silence on the main stage of the conservative political action conference also says something about the country's shift on the issues. same-sex marriage is no longer the winning issue it was for the gop less than a decade ago when george w. bush was running for re-election and a generation of

younger voters had not yet come of able." how will the gop treat the issue of same-sex marriage going forward, matt? >> you know, a craig through a very democratic fashion. like all political parties, we elect all of our leadership and it is that leadership and with the candidates that we nominate that will determine what our platform s i can tell you as a board member of the acu here at cpac there is a diversity on a whole range of issues, one of the things realize you walk around here, greeted people watching and the panels are really interesting. and i think jimmy you just had on the previous segment had a very vigorous panel and is a very open and free discussion here and we are going to see what happens when it comes to how the american people embrace this issue and where they want to go. >> richard, speaking of changing stances, i want to talk about immigration here. florida senator marco rubio did not mention immigration. he didn't men it is at cpac. he didn't mention it in his gop response to the president's

state of the union. who's really taking the lead on this issue for republicans >> this group meeting, a group in the senate and the house meeting with democrats to try to iron out some recommendation and seems like they are getting a lot closer than anybody would have forecast. might remind us on this gay marriage issue, it was not six months ago that the republican platform said there should be constitutional amendment banning it. this transformation, great, i don't think democracy or not, we are seeing any great sign of it. i think imgreat lakes, the evidence of where c pack stands, rick per roy, his credit, talked about how the party needs to reach out to latinos, he was booed for it. and marco rubio wouldn't even touch it. i do think that fills that amnesty is still a very dirty word in republican conservative

circles, anybody suggests the republican party needs to get over this immigration hump to be competitive with hispanic suss kidding themself if they think somehow or other this is going to be a cake walk. >> matt, has there been a great deal of talk on the floor there at cpac about immigration reform? >> absolutely, i was privileged to hear governor jeb bush talk last night. he brought up illinois glacial several times. he has been a leader on this issue. i do agree that the concept of amnesty is very controversial amongst conservatives, it has to be handled delicately you also right they are making great progress in the senate and my party, the republican party, the movement i'm part of the conservative movement has got to have a seat at the table for immigrants, for hispanics and we have got to have a -- do a much better job of reaching out to them and that means our policies have to be better. >> let's talk about romney's

speech yesterday. governor romney giving that first public address since losing the election. he offered some advice to the group that advice being the support -- the 30 republican governors right now, he gave a little nod to new jersey governor chris christie as well, who some say had a role in romney's defeat, of course. take a listen. >> we particularly need to hear from the governors from the blue and purple states, because those are the states we are going to have to win to be able to get back the senate and the white house. so people like bob mcdonnell, scott walker, john case sick, susannah martinez, chris christie, brian sandoval, these are the people we got to listen to and make sure their message heard loud and clear across the country. >> richard, how much sway can those governors blue states have in turning their states red by 2016. >> well, again, i think that cpac is really the worst enemy of the prospects of the gop national any 2016. remember how we came out of the

republican debates saying, oh, my god, they forced foam say things like self-deportation for immigrants or we wouldn't accept a 10-1 ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases. how could they lock themselves in? then they go before cpac, mitt romney who won the cpac straw poll two years running, ran as a severe conservative, is now derided as one speaker after another because he wasn't conservative, i think this whole cpac process is ruin nous. i think anybody who tries to take their cues from what peas being said at cpac to think they are going to turn a blue state red is absolutely living in a dream world. >> matt, you know, richard raises an interesting point and raiseses a point raised by other folks this week, the carnival that kind of is cpac to a certain extent, really has not done a great deal for a lot of candidates in terms of advancing their political careers. what say you to that? what role does cpac have? >> craig, i think two words i would tell you, which is ronald

reagan. he really did, in many way, launch his career and his presidential campaigns from cpac. i think what you have seen today just on the stage a few minutes ago, you had the speaker of the house at the state of flashing the african-american speaker of the house, the state of oklahoma. you had other young leaders from across the country. >> you are going to notice that the ratings of her speech were very high. >> reality tv rates well as well, matt schlapp, doesn't mean anything. >> maybe you are not a sarah palin fan. the room exploded when she spoke. the room gave a very polite and vigorous applause and support for governor romney when he spoke. and what happens at a con prince like cpac is people in the audience get to see hot next

generation of leaders are and who are some leaders around for a while. seems to nee is a totally appropriate part of politics, in the republican party and my party, what happens does matter. >> i had to respond about something about me not being a sarah palin fan. those are your word, not mine. this is sarah pail inat cpac with a big gulp. i don't know what that does to advance dialogue in this country in any serious way, form or fashion and i also don't know why you know, someone like that who gets 50 and s 15 and 20 min conference be taken seriously. just showing the picture. just showing the picture. >> that's why people think she will be closer to kardashian than a politician going forward with all due respect, of course. >> we will have to leave it there. matt schlapp, richard goodstein, thank you very much. appreciate your time. >> thank you both. coming up, testimony about

to start again in an ohio courtroom where two high school football players are on trial for rape. their accuser could be headed to the stand. we are going to have a live report from ohio. plus -- >> we are going to measure well being. we think it is a big idea. an idea whose time is overdue. >> big ideas. we love them. we love them here. 350 mayors faced off to win millions for a city with the big idea. we have got the winner and the idea that could change your city as well. that's coming up. er to mission a for a final go. this is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers.

to get her oven baked taste straight from the microwave. like her oven roasted chicken baked in a rich, creamy alfredo sauce. she calls them her new comfort bakes. marie callender's. it's time to savor.

this is another! ta-daa! try charmin ultra strong. it cleans so well and you can use up to four times less than the leading value brand. and it's four times stronger. charmin ultra strong.

developing right now, following the latest from stubenville ohio, where the trial continues for two high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. more than 20 witnesses have taken the stand so far but the court still has not heard from the defendants or the accuser as well. nbc's ron allen is live for us in stubenville. he has been inside that courtroom. ron, what can you tell us? what's the latest?

>> reporter: well, we think this afternoon that the accuser may finally take the stand, craig. a 16-year-old girl who, interestingly, claims she doesn't really know or remember what happened to her during the night in question. there have been other witnesses who have testified that they saw the two defendants, trent mays and ma'lik richmond, sexually assault this girl on two separate occasions in the back seat of a car and on the basement floor at a private home during a night of alcohol-fueled partying and drinking and celebrating the end of summer that eventually has really gripped this entire community. we don't know that she's going to take the stand. she will be the end of the prosecution's case. the judge here from out of town to decide the matter, brought here to avoid a conflict of interest, because there was thoughts of a local cover up for the young boys to be prosecuted. we were here last night until 10:00.

that is why we are here on a saturday. and have court tomorrow on sunday, if it is not finished today, we don't think it will be. they are trying to resolve this matter. it has gripped this community. people want answers, people want justice for this young girl and they want this whole matter resolved. when she takes the stand, it will be a very strong, emotional exclamation point to the prosecution's case. the problem the defense has is they have not been able to refute the testimony of these two eyewitnesses who say they sought girl sexually attacked. the defense has tried, essentially grasped a number of different defenses dur cross-examination but to most observers here, not effective in dispute that. tend of the day, all that cast a very dark shadow over this town, especially the young people who live in this town at this high school because there were dozens of kids involved in this night of drinking and the bottom line is that no one really came to the aid of this girl. again, so, regardless of the outcome of the trial, again this whole thing has cast its entire community, the young people in a very poor light.

craig? >> ron allen on this seats afternoon from stubenville, ohio. thanks. the new pope meets the press, emphasizing his concern for the poor. we will talk to the former u.s. bea ambassador to the vatican to ask what might get in the way of the pope as he tries to become the people's pope. some have called it the number one threat to our country, cybersecurity. we are going to talk to a top hacker who spent five years in prison, about what we should be doing that we're not. with the spark cash card

from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put 'em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris' small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase every day. great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. read back the chicken's testimony, please. "buk, buk, bukka!" [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. told you i'd get half. what's in your wallet?

the federal government is not addressing the problems of saturday, state governments aren't, the cities are doing it bloomberg philanthropy put out a challenge, 305 cities entered the competition, the best ideas that will help cities, but they have to be transferable so other i did use it, too. >> and that was new york city's michael bloomberg on "morning joe" this week, announcing the whippers of the mayor's

challenge. his big idea is to drive innovation at the city government level, the $5 million grand prize went to providence, rhode island. and providence's mayor, angel tavares, joins me now. first of all, congratulations, mayor. >> thank you. we appreciate it. >> what was and what was your big idea? >> we want to focus on early childhood education and the big issue that we have is there's a big word gap now that exists between lower income and higher income kids and we know this. lower income kids listen to and hear millions of fewer words than their counterparts and we have the technology now to address it that is what we are trying to do is use a record they're will keep track of the number of words that the kids are listening to and then we can work with our parents using home visits to make sure we use different strategies to expand

the vocabulary of the children and that will help them start school, start kindergarten ready to learn which is a huge, huge plus for us, make a big difference in education here in providence and we hope across the country. >> how do you plan to spend the $5 million gift? >> we plan to spend it wisely. we plan on, one, using the technology to make sure that the families ray gray to participate have that technology and then a lot of it will be using home visits and using strategies to help the parents expand the vocabulary. so it will be a combination of technology, home visits. we are also going to be working with brown university. brown university is going to be tracking our progress and showing the impact that we have with our you children. so, that's very important as well, i think it is important to use data to show that this works. >> this is really a fascinating concept and a lot of attention, rightfully so. what -- in terms of tangible

results so far, what do we know about how it's working? >> what we've done, we have had a very small pilot in preparation for the grant, we had several families try it and one of the nice things about it, you can use it in different languages, so it's not just english-speaking languages and that's helpful, because we need the parents to know you can help expand that vocabulary and also helps in terms of brain development as well. so we have seen that parents are very excited about it. we have had some focus groups as well here in the city of providence very excited about it as well. and so now that we have an opportunity to really build this we expect that we will see a lot of excitement, a lot of participation, but ultimately, good results. and that's something that is the most important thing. this is about educating kids and making sure that they start school ready to learn and that they can be successful. we start as early as possible, because it's important. >> it's today's big idea. mayor angel tavares from providence, rhode island, congrats again and thanks again, sir. >> thank you. the pentagon is spending $1

billion to prepare for north korean nuclear threat. i will ask a member of the senate foreign relations committee what the new threat means. also, he was an outspoken progressive voice in the house until that twitter picture killed his career. could anthony weiner be part of a coming back? new revelations, we will follow the money. watching msnbc, the place for politics, even on a saturday afternoon. what's droid-smart ? with google now, it automatically knows when you need to leave for the airport, how much traffic there is, and has your boarding pass ready. the droid razr maxx hd by motorola. droid-smart. droid-powerful. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me.

[ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal.

talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. [ both laughing ] but our plants were starving. [ man ] we love to eat. we just didn't know that our plants did, too. then we started using miracle-gro liquafeed every two weeks. now our plants get the food they need while we water. dinner's ready. come and get it. no one goes hungry in this house. so they're bigger, healthier, and more beautiful. guaranteed. with miracle-gro anyone can have a green thumb. and a second helping. [ both laughing ] when you feed your plants... everyone grows with miracle-gro. bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails.

for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. because that's what happy kids looking for a litter with natural ingredients that helps neutralize odors. discover tidy cats pure nature. uniquely formulated with cedar, pine, and corn. good saturday afternoon to you, i'm craig melvin. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. conservatives at cpac loving sarah palin's swipes i at president obama. >> now, he is considered a good politician, which is like saying

bernie madoff was a good salesman. vote rights back on the line for the south, a bill could force people to show their i.d.s at the polls in north carolina a look at what's next there with republican speaker of the north carolina house. i will talk to him as well. first, our political headlines this hour. former alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee, sarah palin, firing up the crowd at cpac a short timal. she spent some time attacking president obama on several issues, including gun control.e she spent some time attacking president obama on several issues, including gun control. >> checks, yeah, i guess to learn more about a person's thinking and associations and intentions. more background checks. dandy idea, mr. president. should have started with yours. meanwhile, president obama stuck with energy policy and oil dependence in his weekly address today. he recorded that address from the national lab in illinois. the president said today's cars

use less gas but more needs to be done to make the country energy independent. >> over the life of a new car, the average family will save more than $8,000 at the pump. but the only way we can going to break the cycle of spiking gas prices for good is to shift our cars and trucks off of oil for a good. secretary of defense chuck hagel spoke this morning with afghanistan's president, hamid karzai. pentagon spokesman says the two talked about afghan sovereignty and mutual security interests. meanwhile, yesterday, secretary hagel announced the united states would be deplaying new anti-missile same long the pacific coast to counter the growing reach of north korea's missiles. >> north korea, in particular, has recently made advances in its capabilities and has engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations. >> to get more now on the nature of the missile defense system and the threat from north korea,

i want to bring in maryland democrat, senator ben cardin, sits on the foreign relations committee. senator, good to see you. thanks so much for being with me on a saturday afternoon. >> craig, good to be with you. thank you. >> how serious, how real is the threat from north korea? >> we treat their threat very seriously. we know they are continuing their nuclear weapon program against their international commitments, we know it is concern not just to the united states and korea but a concern to all the countries of the china sea. china is very concerned about what north koreans are doing. so, we are treating their threat very seriously. >> but we know that our anti-missile system has a mixed record in testing. how can we be assured that the missile system is going to work and worth the billions it is going to cost to deploy? >> we do everything we can to make sure that north korea doesn't have a functioning weapon that could jeopardize the

united states or any of our allies. so we are work on multiple fronts. we do have our defense systems we have a great deal of confidence will deter or prevent any type of aggression from north korea. >> turn to domestic politics for a moment. president obama went to capitol hill three times this week trying to win support on the budget from congressional republicans and democrats as well. you were in some of those meetings. how successful was the president at winning over congressional hearts and minds, if you will? >> i think these meetings were extremely important. he is establishing relationships with members of congress on both of the ayes, i can tell you talking to my republican colleagues in both sides senate, they very much appreciate the manner in wit president is reaching out they want to see whether we can come together in the best interest. the american people want us to make decisions, they want us to move forward on these budget issue, i think what the president did this week gives us a much better chance of reaching that goal. >> let's look ahead to next week, the president departs tuesday on his first trip to israel as president.

you just returned from there. what does israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyau, what does he want to hear from president obama? >> we congratulate mr. netanyahu on his new government. i think the president will reinforce our commit ment betwen the united states and his real on defense and concern on iran and its nuclear weapon program. i'm certain syria will come up in those discussions and we are hoping that the president will be able to talk with the palestinians about direct negotiations by the palestinians with the israelis. i think what the -- israel will see is that the president will stand by our commitments to our closest ally in the middle east. >> yesterday, lawmakers in your state down there in maryland, they voted to end the death penalty. governor o'malley lobbied for the legislation, signed it immediately, i understand. the governor has been out there as a possible 2016 nominee. how could this issue, along with the state's push for same-sex marriage equality, how could

this play into the governor's future political plans? >> we are very proud of governor o'malley's leadership in our state. on many issues, he has been able to make very tough decisions and lead the people of maryland. we are proud that we are number one in many categories, including education, which is very important to the people of maryland. in regards to the death penalty, there was a commission that looked into it found that it could not be applied without racial bias, found out it was costing the taxpayers three times as much. and i think the legislature was very much influenced by that independent commission. >> maryland democrat senator ben cardin. thank you, sir. good to see you. >> nice to see you. we have been talking about president obama's charm offense and mr. obama met with republican and democratic members of the house and senate in an attempt to try and clear some of the washington gridlock that has so defined that city and this country for some time now i want to bring in lynn sweet, washington bureau chief, "chicago sun-times" and from

cpac, james loben, national political reporter for politico. good to see both of you. >> hey, hi. >> good to see you, craig. >> james what is happening behind you who is speaking? >> there is a panel of conservative talking heads criticizing the president and make it very hard for republicans to work with the president. >> all right. i just wanted to get a little scene set there, james. thank you very much. let me start with you, lynn. talk about this column that you wrote this week, you said, in part, obama shuttled diplomacy to the house and senate rank and file may shutdown or at least soften republican criticism that he doesn't reach out to them. was the president successful? >> in the short term, we just don't know yet. i think in the long term, you have to plant some seeds that will grow here since the relationship is frozen right now into this gridlock that we have, if nothing else, it takes away from the republican es the complaint that obama hasn't personally reached out to them,

stale lot of work to do with the white house staff to congressional staff level, craig. and i think, therefore, this repair job is a work in progress right now. >> james, let me talk to you about two people, first of all, paul ryan, politico piece, you wrote that ryan mocked the budget proposals by senate democrats and that "ryan, of course, is famous for his own budget. he rolled out a fresh version again this week and this's what he focused on during his 14-minute speech at the conservative confab." one of the things that struck me about paul ryan's speech there in maryland is he didn't even say mitt romney's name once. >> it was stunning. and it really was a breach of the protocol for these kinds of things, very unusual that a vice presidential nominee wouldn't mention his running mate or even mention the 2012 campaign. he pretended as if it never happened. notably, mitt romney in his speech, a few hours later, said republicans should look to governors for the future of the party. he kind of had a throw away line about paul ryan.

but he didn't really talk about his running mate or present paul ryan in anyway as the savior of the republican party. so a pretty striking moment here. and the crowd really didn't go wild for paul recent way they did for rand paul or marco rubio. his star seems to be on the decline for right now. >> really quickly here, how was jeb bush received there last night? >> jeb was kind of -- got a very flat reception. jon huntsmanesque to a lot of people here. people just weren't that into his speech. i think he was playing more for the "morning joe" crowd with the text than for the cpac crowd. >> we appreciate that. lynn, before i let you get out of here, president obama, of course in illinois yesterday delivering those remarks on energy policy. what new proposals did he up veil? >> well, what was new is the price tag on a plan to basically try to ween the nation off of oil and gassed on our cars, 2 billion over 150 years.

the goal to have our vehicles fueled by alternatives. he went to a lab, argon lab, that does a loft substantial research work on long-term battery life, et cetera. he calls it the energy security trust. he needs congress to pass it not sure whether or not you will get house republican tons buy into this >> lynn sweet, james hohmann, stick around, guys, bring you back later in the hour. >> thank you. >> thanks, craig gee always wanted to be new york city's mayor but a twitter scandal derailed that political career. why now would be could be the time for anthony weiner to make a comeback. and is the number one security threat to the united states. we are going to talk to a famous hacker who spent five years in prison about how we should be fighting cybercriminals. come back. this is so sick! i can't believe your mom let you take her car out. this is awesome! whoooo! you're crazy. go faster! go faster! go faster! go faster! no! stop...stop...

(mom) i raised my son to be careful... hi, sweetie. hi, mom. (mom) but just to be safe... i got a subaru. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru.

out for drinks, eats. i have very well fitting dentures. i like to eat a lot of fruits. love them all. the seal i get with the super poligrip free keeps the seeds from getting up underneath. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. a lot of things going on in my life and the last thing i want to be thinking about is my dentures. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. visible wrinkle reduction starts day 1. see younger looking skin before you finish one jar. new from olay.

while the scrutiny was taking place, up until all the votes were counted, and you know, francis is a man of peace. and so that's how that name came into my heart. francis of assisi. >> he explained why he chose francis as his new name. tomorrow, vice president joe biden-leave from rome to attend pope francis' installation mass that will happen tuesday. meanwhile, new details emerging from this week on just what kind of pope francis could be, a man of the people, the pope thanking the hotel staff and paying his bill after checking out thursday. and in another display of

humility, he took a bus ride that day with cardinals, despite having a luxurious car at his disposal. i'm joined by raymond flynn, a former ambassador to the vatican from 1993 until 1997. mr. flynn, of course, before that the mayor of boston. good to see you, sir. >> great to be with you. thanks for inviting me. >> the pope also apparently joked with the cardinals who elected him this week, telling them "may god forgive you for what you've done." how much of this humility do we expect to last into his papacy? >> well, this is his background. this is what he represent he is. he is a social, economic, justice catholic that is -- reaches out to the poor, to the needy, to the forgotten, the voiceless. craig, he is as as popular in america as in boston and new york as derek jeter and david ortiz is at this point in time.

it is not because he is because he is flamboyant or charismatic, it is because of what he represents, the traditional values of the catholic faith, of helping the poor, in addition to that he has got a person eighth, i have met him a couple of time, a personality really engaging with people and i think it's going to go over very, very well. i think people will warm up to him. quickly, i was at a couple of st. patrick's events the last couple of days, as you can see by my green tie here. and the people are very excited. i was at st. margaret's church today in dorchester. that's all people are talking about, is pope francis. >> as i just mentioned, vice president joe biden is going to be leading a u.s. delegation to rome for his installation ceremony tuesday. how do you see the relationship between the vatican, under pope francis, how do you see that relationship with the united states going forward? >> well, i will tell you, i was the united states ambassador when bill clinton was the

president. and we enjoyed an extraordinary relationship. john paul ii and bill clinton, even though they were there were differences of opinion on very important issues, nonetheless, the chemistry was very, very profound. i think the chemistry with joe biden and pope francis will be very, very positive and i think when president obama gets the chance to meet with the pope they will also have a very strong personal relationship because they are compactible on a number of the social and economic justice issues that the catholic church has always been in the forefront, education, help he can the poor, over the years some, there's a lot in common here. >> i want to talk to you really quickly about another part of the story getting a great bit of attention n argentina, many human rights activists criticize the pope for being silent during the dictate top sh in the '70s when 30,000 people disappeared.

how long will this issue follow pope francis? >> i don't think it's going to stay very long. i tell you, because's religious leader, he is not a political leader. that's like accusing franklin roosevelt or jack kennedy for the mistreatment of blacks in america. you know, he did what they could and they couldn't change it overnight, but gradually, they changed the issue of racial injustice in america and i think that's what pope francis tried to do and i think people will recognize that. >> let's talk about cardinal sean o'malley of boston on the short list to become the pope an article in the boston herald thursday, you wrote "cardinal sean's best days are still ahead of him. among the cardinals, he is a young man at 67 and just starting to make his mark internationally." going forward, chow cardinal o'malley, how could he influence the vatican and is there a chance he could very well still become pope one day?

>> just being himself. i think that is the success. i know him very well. and he is so engaging, such a humble man and everybody likes to be around him. and it's not that he's a politician, it's no that the he tries to steal the headlines. he just is what he s i have been in politics 40 years, craig and found the best politicians and the best leaders people who act as themselves, not try to be something else. that's why i wrote, sean o'malley's best days are yet to come and i think tim dolan in new york, i think the boss of them represented the values of the united states and the united states and the catholic church in such a profound way that we are very, very proud of them. the world saw tim dolan and sean o'mall lit way we know them in boston and new york. >> raymond flynn, former u.s. ambassador to the vatican, former mayor of boston. happy st. patrick's day to you,

sir. >> thank you. i was waiting for you to say that. >> it is actually tomorrow. >> well, happy st. patrick's day is three weeks in boston. >> that's -- and in new york city as well. and folks, we will have full coverage of tuesday's installation mass live from the vatican right here on msnbc. jeb bush has been a leader in the gop on immigration. we are going to talk to a new congressman from the sunshine state about what's next on that issue. and next, he rides the bus, he cooks his own meals, but is francis going to be a pope of the people? i'm going to give you some of my insights it's the thought bubble. you're watching msnbc. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines

are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams.

go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. all the things we love about sunday meals into each of her pot pies. like tender white meat chicken and vegetables in a golden flaky crust that's made from scratch. marie callender's pot pies. it's time to savor. in a golden flaky crust that's made from scratch. do we hano.a mower? a trimmer? no. we got nothing. we just bought our first house, we're on a budget. we're not ready for spring.

well let's get you ready. very nice. you see these various colors. we got workshops every saturday. yes, maybe a little bit over here. this spring, take on more lawn for less. not bad for our first spring. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get three bags of earthgro mulch, a special buy at just $10. it will if it's new outlast stay fabulous foundation. it's a primer, concealer and foundation in one for all day flawless skin. new outlast stay fabulous from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. perhaps you have heard the world has a new pope. until wednesday, had been the archbishop of buenos ar remember cardinal jorge mario berg goal yo, the first to pick the name francis, first jesuit, first

pope from outside europe in rough 14ri 300 years. pope francis also quickly seems to be developing a reputation as a pope of the people. he passed on the church mansion in argentina, opting to live modestlism he enjoys cooking his own food and used public transportation to get around. many are already speculating about what the 76-year-old's legacy will and won't be. some, especially in this country, wondered aloud whether he may shift positions on female priests, contraception and homosexuality. most papal experts don't expect much, if any change, or on orthodox in general. but here is another thing, another first, how about becoming the first pope to publicly and explicitly claim a zero toll perhaps of sexuaeranc

by priest. no other scandal of shame has rocked an institution like the catholic church and damage sod many young lives. perhaps as equally disgusting has been the way it's been handled or not handled. offending priests shuffled around to other parishes or diocese in an attempt to shield the church. zero tolerance. just a thought. back to politics why is mitch mcconnell afraid of ashley judd in the bluegrass battle hasn't even begun and how much money would it take for anthony weiner to launch a political come back? you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. ♪ [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums.

calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums feel like you're growing older... waiting to look younger? don't wait. [ female announcer ] get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. the next generation with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. it penetrates rapidly. visible wrinkle results start day 1. and you'll see younger looking skin before you even finish one jar. ♪ new olay regenerist. the wait is over.

and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. right now, we are closely watching a courtroom in stubenville, ohio. that's where a trial is going on for two high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. more than 20 witnesses have taken the stand so far, but the court still has not heard from the defendants or the accuser. that trial is expected to

continue into tomorrow as well. we are going to keep our eyes on that courtroom and pass along new information as it becomes available. i'm craig melvin. good saturday. here is a quick look at some of the other top stories making news right now. two people are dead and at least three are seriously hurt in central pennsylvania. their bus crashed earlier today. that bus was carrying players and coaches from seton hill university's women's lacrosse team. one american astronaut and two russian cosmonauts came back to earth today. three astronauts back on solid ground today, wrapped up a 144-day mission to the international space station. an american and two russians landed early this morning in kazakhstan. the health scare for lil wayne. reporting the 30-year-old rapper was hospitalized in los angeles yesterday, apparently had a seizure, but last night, this tweet from the rapper's account. "i'm good, everybody. thanks for the prayers and love."

back to politics now. campaign filings release last night show a new but old name maybe entering the new york race. anthony weiner, the former disgraced new york congressman, resigned in 2011 after that twitter sexting stan scandal spent $100,000 on polling, consultants and office space. so, is he back? joining me with more on that, michael greenbaum of "the new york times," thanks for coming in a saturday afternoon to help us sift through this stuff. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to show our viewers at home this is a web page that's devoted, of course, campaign spending and there you can see it there if you look closely, anthony d. weiner, mayor, 2013. is he in? >> no one spends 100 grand on polling if they are not seriously considering it. but so far, he hasn't really jumped in or given us any idea what the polls said. so, there's some speculation he might not have gotten the feedback he was looking for.

>> what has he been doing since he -- since he left in disgrace in 2011? >> oh, he's been spending time with his wife. they have a young child. he has been playing in a local hockey league, chelsea piers in manhattan, spot there had by reporters and consulting business, which accounts for the office space but clearly, he has always been thinking how much time has to pass until i can dive back into the political realm? >> he and his wife are they still together? >> they are. >> they are still together? so she has clearly forgiven him? what about voters in new york? how forgiving typically are they? >> the most recent polls show that they are not looking for congressman weiner to jump back in here but i think you got to game it out a little bit. i think -- let's say he throws himself into a city race. you are looking at maybe three to four weeks, some of the worst press coverage you can imagine, you know, "new york post," lewd puns day after day. >> lots of cover headlines. >> but let's say after a month that dies down, maybe get some think pieces saying, hey, maybe

this backslash overblown and voters start to think about anthony wooerner as a serious politician once again. may be i what he is trying to game out as he does this poulg. >> what sort of timeframe do you think we are looking at here, when, if he decides he wants to get in, when does very to say i'm in or out? >> he is sitting of on a huge war chest, more than $4 million, more than twice as much as some active mayoral candidates have right now in new york city. co-actually jump in with a huge television ad campaign pretty late in the race. however, i think you want to look for a desitting in next month or two >> right now, christine quinn, she the favorite? front-runner, a lot based on name recognition, a lot of new yorkers aren't paying attention right now. you got think if anthony weiner jumped into the ray he is the only guy who has the same recognition she does. >> michael greenbaum, "new york times," thanks for helping us sift through that fascinating story. >> thanks for having me. talking about the future of the republican party now, former florida governor jeb bush addressed cpac last night. take a listen.

rnlgs all of our successes at the state level and the private sector continue to be undone if we lose presidentsal elections. we will forfeit our ability to chart a better future for the republic. this would be tragic in every sense of the word. >> is the sunshine state's former governor going to take on a big role in his party now? joining me now you florida freshman congressman trey raidle. congressman, good to see you. >> craig, great to be with you. so my setup is lil wayne, aka wheezer going into weiner, anthony weiner and here we are. so, i'm happy man. >> talk about jeb bush. does that work for you >> sure. look, governor bush is a great man and what i love so much about what he's doing is talking

about what where i hope to be a senator marco rube my senator, a good friend and a mentor. i hope we can be a new generation of republicans that are inclusive not exclusive. we are open to talking a dialect, have an extended hand, open hand. compromise is not a dirty word. it is not compromising your principles or values, it's sharing them what a new generation of the republican party is going to be and jeb bush you will his straits gh bush illustrates that. >> you worked in all your talking points in 45 seconds. that was pretty impressive. you have heard something i have heard emother people say a party that is open, inclusive, i had the leader of go proud on an hour ago, they were excluded from your conference. rob portman came out yesterday in support of same-sex marriage but then we heard from jason chaffetz from utah, we love rob, we are not real bigging on the same-sex marriage thing just yet

though. so, how open is the party really? >> well, look, first of all in speaking for myself, i'm under 40 years old and there's a whole lot of us younger republicans and quite frankly democrats on the other side of the aisle. look, i speak three languages, spanish is one of them. i've lived in chicago. inner city chicago. i have lived in atlanta. inner city atlanta. i've -- i've traveled all over the world and i hope to bring that open minded vision to this congress and to my party to again be inclusive, not exclusive. i will tell you here, right now you standing at cpac, quite frankly, i'm disappointed about some of the rhetoric that we hear. i don't think the government should be in the bedroom like that. and you know, when it comes to chris christie, i would have liked to have seen him here as well today. >> so, you're acknowledging that some of the rhetoric that we've heard come out of c pack the last few days has been a tad ridiculous? >> i'm not going to categorize it as ridiculous, as i'll not categorize what president obama

says is ridiculous. i come into things with an open mind. like i owned a business in the private sector, i'm willing to negotiate, talk and come to the table and i'm not going to substitute, as the president once said, name calling for debate. i'm here to work with everybody in any way that i can do that i will. but again, i am a conservative, there's no question about that so, i'm not going to sit here, take shot at fellow conservatives. >> no one is asking you to you did say the government shouldn't be in a person's bedroom. does that mean that you also support same-sex marriage? >> it's into the i support it the question is why is the federal government involved here? >> no no the question -- whoa, whoa, whoa, the question do you support it. don't run from the question. it's a very simple question. >> i'm not running from the question, craig. i think that it should be up to the states. and that is a conservative principle. >> no, that is not a conservative principle, it is a cop out. >> really? see, here is the difference, craig. >> go ahead. >> listen i didn't want to be -- start going back and forth like this, but here's the difference between a liberal mindset and a

conservative mindset today. the fundamental difference between a new generation of republicans and the liberal thinking that's been taking the democratic party over for too long, what you want -- liberals in this country want are basically old dudes in suits in washington to make decisions for you on what size of a big gulp you can have how much salt you can have in your food, how much fat -- >> first of all, michael bloomberg of new york city you not washington, d.c. second, my can he question to you simply was, it's question -- rob portman yesterday he didn't shy away from it. i mean, this is, for a lot of folks in this country, this is a very important issue, some have stayed is going to probably be the civil rights issue of our time and i have asked you and you have done what a lot of folks do when asked the question pointedly, you have said, it should you can up to the states. that's fine. it can be up to the states, but as a -- but as a lawmaker -- no as a lawmaker, from time to time, tough vote on issues pertaining to things like. this as a lawmaker, do you support same-sex marriage?

it's a simple question. >> if could two men want to be partners, i don't care. >> okay. see, how hard was that? >> federal lawmaker to be -- craig, gee, it wasn't very hard, thanks, i really appreciate your kindness and support here, man. >> really quickly, before i let you go, just so you know they is the most time we have spent with any guest this afternoon because we are enjoying this conversation so much, i want to ask you about jed bush. you mentioned mentaler to marco rubio, good friend with marco rubio, if jed bush and marco rubio both run in 2016, what does that mean or is it even possible? >> look, i'm not a political pundit. i just don't see that scenario happening. i like both men. both are great guys. senator rubio, marco in particular, has been a great friend and a mentor. and i think that he would be one heck of a contender moving forward. i will leave that at that. want to judge that as a cop out, my man, so be it, we can talk another time.

>> you know what we will leave it there i have enjoyed. this i do hope you come back, all right? >> craig, i know that washington here is -- i hear that you spent many years here angering and working, i do hope to see you here or perhaps in new york some time. >> congressman -- i see why people might vote for you from time to time, you're very engaging. thank you. >> thank you. i appreciate t you take care, have a good one. and the national rifle association talking directly to conservatives at cpac. is there room for new gun laws in this country? first, we flashback to a key moment in the rush to war with sad saddam hussein. this is mnsnc, the place for politics. our financial advice is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. life brings obstacles. usaa brings retirement advice. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody...

that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting.

so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ all the things we love about sunday meals into each of her pot pies. like tender white meat chicken and vegetables in a golden flaky crust that's made from scratch. marie callender's pot pies. it's time to savor. if by blessed you mean freaked out about money well we suddenly noticed that everything was getting more expensive so we switched to the bargain detergent but i found myself using three times more than you're supposed to

and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. thanks honey yeah you suck at folding [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] one cap of tide gives you more cleaning power than 6 caps of the bargain brand. [ woman ] that's my tide, what's yours? for current and former military members and their families. get advice from the people who share your values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. today my candidacy for the presidency of the united states. i do not run for the presidency merely to oppose any man, but to propose new policies. i run because i am convinced that this country is on a

perilous course and because i have such strong feelings about what must be done and i feel that i'm obliged to do all that i can. >> that, of course, was robert f. kennedy on this day in 1968 announcing his presidential candidates cism the then-senator of new york and brother of the late president kennedy looked like a very prom hissing candidate, but it was not to be. after wing the california primary on june 5th, rfk addressing his supporters at the ambassador hotel in los angeles, and as he was leaving that hotel, he was shot and killed. the assassin, sirhan sirhan, a 24-year-old palestinian man, who is still serving out a life sentence in california. now, let's flashback to 2003, as the tension between washington and baghdad became thicker by the moment. president george w. bush and his team were engaged in what's been called an unprecedented effort to sell the war in iraq. a major part of their pitch came

in february when the then-secretary of state colin powell went before the united nations to convince the world that iraq posed an imminent threat. a little more than a month later on this day 2003, just before the war started, then-vice president dick cheney gave this now-infamous interview on "meet the press." >> now, i think things have gotten so bad inside iraq, from the standpoint of the iraqi people, my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators and the president has made it very clear that our purpose there is, if we are forced to do this will be, in fact, stand up a government that is representative of the iraqi people, hopefully democratic, due respect for human rights and it obviously involve was a major commitment by the united states, but we think it's a commitment worth making you and we don't have the option anymore, simply laying back and hoping that events in iraq will not constitute a threat to the u.s. >> if your analysis is not correct and we are not treated as lib brarts as conquer -- lib

brarts as conquerors, particularly in baghdad, do you think the american people are prepared for a long, costly and bloody battle with significant american cash shuttist? >> i don't think it's likely to unford that way, tim, because rill do believe we will be greeted as lib rarity. i have talked with a lot of iraqis in the last several months myself, had them to the white house, the president and very met with them, various groups and individuals, people who have devoted their lives from the outside to try to change the thing also inside iraq. >> the very next day, prime time address from the white house, president george w. bush issued that 48-hour deadline for saddam hussein and his sons to leave iraq. two days later, the war started. shock and awe ensued. operation iraqi freedom informs full effect. by the time the last american soldier left iraq in december of 2011, more than 200,000 people

had died, plus a report out this week estimates that the war in iraq cost the united states roughly $2 trillion. a cost that could rise to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades, counting interest. tomorrow, right here on this program, we will hear from some of the journalists who joined the american soldiers on the front lines of that war. and be sure to catch "hubris, selling the iraq war" the documentary featuring rachel maddow, that will happen on march 22nd at 9 p.m. voting rights are still on the line around the country for a lot of folks, a strict voter i.d. bill could very well become law in the super spring swing state of north carolina. the law would allow voters to show a government i.d. two have to show this government photo i.d. to vote and most north carolinas want t an elon university poll this month shows 72% of people in the states support the measure, 25% oppose it, but critics say a voter i.d.

slaw essentially unnecessary. a news and observer editorial pointed out that the north carolina state board of elections referred about 310 cases for voter fraud prosecution out of about 4.3 million votes that were cast in the 2008 election. joining me now, north carolina speaker of the house, tom tillis. he supports the measure. it's good see you, mr. tillis. >> greetings from the carolinas, craig. >> unemployment in the tar hill state you 9.4%, it's above the national average, voter fraud there, not rampant. why is this a legislative priority? >> well, we call this restoring confidence in elections. that is not the primary reason for doing this. there's a lot of people who are just concerned about the potential risk of fraud. in our state, it could be significant. this is just a measure that we think makes three-fourths -- nearly three-fourths of the population more comfortable and

more confident when they go to the polls. >> you acknowledge the problem doesn't exist yet, this is an attempt to curb a potential problem? >> well, i think the fact that you said the state board of election also identified some 300 cases, subjected existed at some level. but there's also another problem there are a lot of people, young people and elders who do not have i.d.s. this measure provides broad access to i.d.s at no cost. it also allows for expired driver ares licenses of senior citizens to be used, for college i.d.s and other government-issued i.d.s. i think providing broad and free access to photo i.d.s also serves as a benefit to the citizens of north carolina. >> the president of the north caroli carolina naacp called this a poll tax, the historic method of blocking african-americans from voting. he said this this mr. barber down there in north carolina, he stayed in part, "they designed a maze of frustrating visits to the government agencies with costly administrative fees that

citizens who have no car and no driver's license must navigate and pay to exercise their constitution a right to vote." what would be your reaction to that? >> well, we disagree with reverend barber. i believe, first off you we have a very extensive absentee balloting vote by mail system, those who have difficulty getting to a location that may be able to provide a valid i.d. may want to use that choice where an i.d. would not be an issue to begin w reverend barber and those who are opposed to this bill are doing it i think largely on ideological bounds or grounds because the data in other state, if you take a look at the state of georgia, where they said hundreds of thousands of i.d.s would have to be issued, there have been 27,000, a state roughly the same size as north carolina. >> all right. thom tillis you speaker of the house in north carolina, we will leave it there. i'm sure we will be talking about this the next few months. >> thank you, craig.

no thanks. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. it's so powerful you can skip a day... but light enough you won't want to. dermatologist recommended eucerin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green giant

[ green giant ] ho ho ho. kids are like sponges. they soak up everything. especially when it comes to what you say and do. so lead by example and respect others. you won't let prejudice into your home. the more you know.

don't tell me we're the party of intolerance, when nearly two years before the election, some left wing super pac is sending out racist tweets about my wife for the supposed crime of being born in another country. >> that's mitch mcconnell talking about tweets written by a souper pac called progress kentucky, about his wife elaine chow. chow was born in taiwan and came to the united states when she was 8 years old. senator mcconnell, his challenger would be actress ashley judd. back with me lynn sweet and james holman.

lynn, he's made these tweets about his wife, a campaign issue already. his team has started airing this ad featuring elaine chow across kentucky. >> you've seen the ads attacking my husband. as mitch mcconnell's wife i've learned to respect them. now they're attacking him because he's married to me. that's how low some people with swoop. >> progress kentucky has apologized for it and democrats have spoken out against the tweet. why continue senator mcconnell let this go? >> those tweets were wrong, bad idea, deplorable. now having said that, what mcconnell is trying to do with this ad is try to appeal to women voters early on to inoculate himself just in case ashley judd decides to run. >> it's a preemptive strike?

>> absolutely. >> james, they say the fact that he's putting out the ad so early is an unprecedented admission of fear. how worried is mcconnell at this point about his chances for re-election? >> he's relatively wore yesterday that's why he is getting started early. there is some precedent. the real story here is the conservatives have united behind him. mitch mcconnell was worried about a primary. it now looks like republicans will be united behind him if he faces ashley judd. >> is that reince priebus behind you speaking? >> it is. he's just taken the stage. we get the straw poll results in the next hour or so. >> that straw poll that they do

every year, how significant is that? i mean, is that really -- does it tell us anything at this point? >> absolutely. it tells us who has momentum. it's not a determinant of who will be the presidential nominee. rand paul expected to win. kind of a reflection of where he stands with the movement right now. but it really is a good barometer of what the activists think about key 2016 contenders. >> lynn, i want to get back to this kentucky race for a second. john yarmuth, a supporter of ashley judd. he said senator mcconnell is in hot water with women, and he railed against the golden girls at c-pac, as well. how can his wife, secretary chow, how can she help him win? >> getting out early, telling the story of mitch mcconnell. she's a warm, engaging

personality, lots of credentials. no one better to make the case, especially when you have a potential female candidate. >> lynn sweet and james holton, who doubled today as a live reporter for us, we'll pay you double. still to come, could the nra be ready to back the idea of background checks? but first, a new view of the modern american family and how the roles of mothers and fathers have changed considerably over the years. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. opened up jake's very private world. at first, jake's family thought they saved ziggy, but his connection with jake has been a lifesaver. for a love this strong, his family only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein... ...to help keep ziggy's body as strong as a love that reaches further than anyone's words.

iams. keep love strong. that reaches further than anyone's words. we replaced people with a machine.r, what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. it's been said that beauty is in the ewell...behold. der. behold water so blue it merges with the sky above. behold natural beauty above the sea, and far below. behold smiles so wide they stretch across the face of an entire nation. behold...the islands of the bahamas.

okay why? more is better than less because if stuff is not le-- if there is more less stuff then you might want to have some more and your parents just don't let you because there's only a little bit. right. we want more, we want more. like you really like it, you want more. right. i follow you. [ male announcer ] it's not complicated. more is better. and at&t has the nation's largest 4g network. ♪ and at&t has the nation's largest 4g network. i can't believe your mom let you take her car out.ck! this is awesome! whoooo! you're crazy. go faster! go faster! go faster! go faster! no! stop...stop... (mom) i raised my son to be careful... hi, sweetie. hi, mom. (mom) but just to be safe... i got a subaru. (announcer) love.

it's what makes a subaru a subaru. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. remember no drama obama? if only. now it's all drama obama. >> you remember her, right? some theater at c-pac as sarah palin fires up the base. she threw up a lot of red meat. right now reince priebus is on

stage. you're watching msnbc. the gop base continues to get fired up in maryland. the former vice presidential nominee mocked the president and took out a big gulp to take a swing at mayor bloomberg's soda ban. and we'll talk about gun legislation. first, wisconsin's republican governor spot walker tells politico he's open to a presidential bid, and will not pledge to serve a full four-year term as governor if re-elected next year. he said his focus is on substance, not longevity. he also spoke earlier today. and congressman paul ryan delivered the republican's weekly address today, explaining why his party wants a balanced budget. >> we're not balancing the budget as an accounting

exercise. we're not frying to make numbers add up. we're trying to improve people's lives. for americans worried about jobs and the cost of living, our plan protecting them from tax hikes and calls for congress to fix the tax code by closing loopholes. >> and anthony weiner may be planning a political comeback for the 20 13 mayoral race. the new york democrat recently spent more than $100,000 on polls, consultants, and office space. weiner resigned in 2011 when a suggestive photo that he tweeted became public. the united states will deploy a $1 billion anti-missile defense system along the pacific coast to counter a growing missile threat from north korea. defense secretary chuck hagel made that announcement friday at the pentagon. take a listen. >> north korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and is engaged in a

series of irresponsible and reckless provocations. >> kristen welker is live at the white house for us. how much of a problem is north korea right now for the obama administration? >> reporter: well, i think it is a problem, craig. the obama administration had been hoping when kim jong-un took over that he would help to lead north korea out of isolationism. really the opposite has happened. he's become more bellicose than his father and these intercepters are going to be placed because of recent provocations from north korea and there is a sense that they've made advances in nuclear capabilities. last week, north korea threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the united states and also they're ending their treaty with south korea. to there is a lot of concern.

we should say this move to increase the number of intercepters marks a shift in the obama administration's policy, because back in 2010, they had said they weren't going to add new intercepters. this comes as president obama is just starting his second term. he's mapped out an ambitious agenda. but experts say this is going to take up a large portion of the next several years, concerns about north korea and iran, as well. >> let's talk about the vice president for a second, vice president biden is going to be leading the u.s. delegation to the pop's installation tuesday. biden is the first roman catholic to serve as vice president. how significant of a trip is this going to be for him? >> reporter: i think it's going to be a significant trip. the vice president talked about the role and the importance that faith has played in his own life. this is the first pope from the americas, that is something that president obama talked about in his reaction to this new pope.

and the white house releasing the delegation, including vice president biden, who will lead the delegation. susanna martinez, the governor of new mexico, will be there, and house minority leader nancy pelosi. craig? >> thank you. we want to switch gears right now for a few minutes. working parents will tell you they don't need a study to tell them about their everyday struggle for a work-life balance. so it may come as welcome news that a new study shows an evolving modern family where more american are pitching in to help. there's more of a division of labor when it comes to child care and housework. but is it reducing stress? matt welch, editor and chief as reasoner magazine, veronica, and kelly wallace all join me.

thanks for being here, guys. i want to delve into this. kelly, i'm going to start with you. you juggle a lot. and i know your husband. he's not very helpful. >> i know. he begs to differ. >> i'm kidding. matt is screaming at the tv right now. let's talk about this survey. it shows that fathers today spend more than twice as much time doghouse work as they did in the '60s. ten hours versus four hours. even then many dads don't feel like they're doing enough. what's changed in this country? >> it's interesting, more men, more fathers feel like they're not spending enough time with their kids than the moms. two things. one, i think what's kind of sad, women, here we are, wanting equality in all ways and we're getting it in terms of stress. as many men and women, working moms and dads say they're

stressed with the juggle. i think the wakeup call here, i hope is in a way for corporate america. you have a lot of stressed out dads and moms. i think that means maybe we need to do more as a society in terms of allowing more flexibility so dads can feel like they're spending more time with their kids and still doing what they need to do in the workplace. >> veronica, research shows 56% of women, 50% of men, say that juggling work and family life is difficult for them, very difficult. you would think that things should have gotten a little easier if two people were sharing the work. what do you think is going on more? >> thanks for having me on. what i think is going on is a reflection of how our whole society is created with the idea that there is somebody at home. but we have both parents working in the workforce, there is

increased stress on the parents about who is going to take care of the kids. schools are letting out far before parents get out of the office. who is going to take care of them after school, who is going to get them to school. i work full-time. my husband works full-time. i'm also working on my doctorate. so there's a lot of stress in our house, too. >> how do you guys do it? what's the secret? >> a lot of juggling. a lot of -- knowing our calendars really well. it's also great support from our families and friends. our families are not close enough to help us on those everyday emergencies or events. but we have a great core of friends who will come and help us at a drop of a hat. i have neighbors who will make us dinner when they know that we're going to be coming home late.

it takes a village thing. >> i know you're working all the time. what do you and your wife do to make it work? >> my wife opens her own business where she's able to work at home and have more flexible scheduling. which i think a lot of households do. you have one person working a little more regimented, which i think is partly a product of the fact unfortunately that our health care is too tied with our jobs. we can't be as flexible because we can't own our own health care. i left on a job on friday and started a new one monday just because i can keep my own health care. but you can't, because you have different jobs and you have to go to a different program. so you feel this pressure of someone always has to have this full-time employment and this is an artifact of world war ii wage controls. it's unfortunate. but the good news is that we're all doing less housework. the total amount of housework -- >> the houses are filthy. >> it's because -- let's give a

shout out to capitalism. we have dishwashers in 2/3 of households. women have more flexibility. they're not working 32 hours a week and cooking. they're working 18. they are starting their own businesses. they're working. so there's much more diversity of roles out there. >> the other thing that's interesting is we're spending more time with our kids than our parents. >> much. >> much more. a part of that is a little bit is bringing more stress in terms of how much quality time. my mother will joke that she said it wasn't the best thing, but the kids were in front of the tv. i think we're putting some extra pressure on ourselves different from our parents. >> you mentioned flexibility a few minutes ago, and the area

yahoo ceo made some head waves ordering all employees back in the office. what is that going to mean for the working parents who say they're having a hard enough time already juggling? >> it's just going to add to the stress. i understand facetime, having to be in the office and working with people. but there needs to be some flexibility in terms of when we shut down at the office, and maybe transition to home. i take work home. my husband brings work home. i know a lot of people who bring lots of work home for them. and they come home and there's dinner and homework and there's family time. put the kids to bed and move into your next shift. >> this is something that struck me about this study. the percentage of stay at home fathers, it's still not significant, i guess, when you compare it to women, but i want to throw this up. the percentage of stay at home dads has gone from 1.6% in 2001

to 3.4%, still quite low, but where do we think that number might be in say 10, 15 years from now? >> 7%, 10%, 13%, who knows? i was at a birthday party this morning with a stay at home dad. one of the conversations was, i wish i could quit my job and be a stay at home dad. there's not as much societal pressure. and let's give a shout out to the pill. women can control their fertilities that wasn't each legal back in 1965, that unmarried couples can use the pill. so when you're controlling your own fertility, you can plan your life differently. and these roles, it seems so cemented 50 years ago, are now much more up in the air, which allows us to choose whatever we want to do. >> go ahead, veronica. >> men want to spend more time

with their children. to i see that this trend is continuing, and hopefully within the next few years, we will see men spending as much time as they want with their children and rebelling against the 50, 60-hour workweek. >> and one of the things we see around here, you see a lot of dads bring their kids into work. you see folks in makeup all the time with their kids. sometimes it's like a daycare. >> that's great. it's so positive that we know that kids benefit from that relationship. they benefit so much from that relationship from fathers we see in the research with dads who say they don't want to just be the financial provider and be there on a saturday afternoon. they know that kids benefit emotionally and spiritually by having more time during the week with them, as well. >> thanks so much for being part

of this conversation. >> thank you. >> you've inspired me to go out and maybe have some kids. with an assault weapons ban headed for the senate floor, one congressman said we need to pierce the liability shield built by the nra and other pro gun groups. we'll talk to california's adam schiff, next. almost every government agency has taken precautions to prevent hacking. how big is the threat? we'll ask a master hacker. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. what are you doing? licking the cream off these oreo cookies. that's stupid. you're wasting the best part. shuh, says the man without a helicopter. wait, don't go! [ male announcer ] choose your side at oreo.com. wait, don't go! do we hano.a mower? a trimmer? no. we got nothing. we just bought our first house, we're on a budget. we're not ready for spring. well let's get you ready. very nice.

you see these various colors. we got workshops every saturday. yes, maybe a little bit over here. this spring, take on more lawn for less. not bad for our first spring. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get three bags of earthgro mulch, a special buy at just $10. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk.

i'm just warm weather and beaches. but i'm so much more. i'm movie sets and studio tours. i'm family, museums, and world-class art. and that's the point. you'll see things here that you never expected. ♪ only be warned: there's so much to take in... it could leave your head spinning. los angeles. endlessly entertaining.

plan your getaway at discoverlosangeles.com colorado residents looking to buy guns could soon face tougher background checks. the legislature just yesterday

passed a bill calling for universal checks for all gun buyers. the legislation goes to the governor for his signature, and he says he will be signing that bill. the nra is getting some prime real estate in this weekend's conference. the gun lobby's president is speaking right now on the floor there. meanwhile, thursday a bill banning some assault weapons cleared a senate judiciary committee. the bill is expected to face tough opposition on the senate floor and expected to fail, as well. joining me now from washington, california democratic congressman adam schiff. good to see you. >> thanks, craig. >> the nra remains publicly opposed to any new restrictions on firearms. the executive vice president friday, take a listen. >> they can call me crazy or anything else they want.

but nra's nearly 5 million members, and american's 100 million gun owners will not back down, not ever. i promise you that. >> how much of a battle is it going to be to convince nra members and gun owners to toughen gun laws? >> with some of the gun laws, it's not difficult at all. those 5 million members he was talking about, they don't agree with him on universal background checks. certainly the 100 million or so that own guns in the united states don't agree. passage of the legislation that will cover private sales is broadly popular, and this more than any single measure could keep guns out of the hands of felons. so they're way out of step. the assault weapons ban, the ban on extended ammunition clips, those enjoy popular support. they are going to be tough.

there is a lot of opposition, and that bill, senator feinstein's assault weapons bill passed on a party line vote in the committee. but because it's tough isn't a reason not to move forward. i don't think we need anymore reason to motivate us than newtown. >> the committee meeting turned a little testy. i want to play this exchange for you viewers. >> it seems to me that all of us should begin as our foundational document with the constitution. and the second amendment and the bill of rights provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. >> i'm not a sixth grader. i've been on this committee for 20 years. i thank you for the lecture. incidentally, this does not prohibit -- you use the word prohibit. it exempts 2,271 weapons. isn't that enough?

>> what can we expect to see and hear in the senate when that bill reaches the floor? >> well, unfortunately you're going to hear a lot more of the same that you just heard from senator cruz. a lot of it patronizing, as i think that exchange was. unfortunately, misapprehension what the second amendment prohibits. there is no second amendment right to possess any kind of weapon, a tank or f-16 or assault weapon for that matter. that amendment allows reasonable restrictions, as do all of the amendments. there's no right under the first amendment to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. as one of the justices wrote in a different context, the constitution is not a suicide pact. it doesn't preclude us from doing common sense things, like protecting if country from these mass shootings. but it is going to be tough. particularly on the assault weapons ban. very close vote and a

hard-fought battle. but the momentum has shifted on this subject, and things that were not possible five, ten years ago are now possible now. >> you've introduced in the house a bill that would override a 2005 law that provides gunmakers immunity from liability lawsuits. how can going after gun manufacturers help reduce gun violence? >> well, even with a universal background check system, that's only going to be good with the people selling the goods and their willing to act without negligence. right now a big problem is that gun dealers, some of the bad actors, they sell a lot of guns, turn a blind eye to straw purchasers that buy large quantities of weapons. in burbank, my hometown, we lost a police officer.

he was gunned down by an assailant using a gun he couldn't buy himself because he had a felony record. so he got it from a straw purchaser. his family wasn't able to bring suit to find out whether that gun dealer knowingly transferred those weapons to straw purchasers. so this is something we need to pierce. it's the only industry in america that enjoys immunity from any liability for negligence. >> adam schiff, congressman, thank you. an nfl player and the hot air balloon, apparently not a good combination. we'll talk about that. and michelle obama takes the cover again. you're watching msnbc. one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card

from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button? that your mouth is under attack, from food particles and bacteria. try fixodent. it helps create a food seal defense for a clean mouth and kills bacteria for fresh breath. ♪ fixodent, and forget it. great, anything come with it? [ ding dong ] ♪ 20% off teleflora... oh... save on roadside assistance from allstate! discounts from enterprise, avis and hertz! [ male announcer ] aarp has great deals on dining, entertainment, travel, and more... like geek squad, expedia and british airways...

all in one place... aarpdiscounts.com. popcorn, your favorite... [ male announcer ] find offers from regal cinemas, norwegian cruise line and walgreens. hotel savings at hilton, hyatt and best western. and everyday discounts from denny's and kellogg's. they're great! [ male announcer ] all chosen just for aarp members. papa john's! [ male announcer ] with new offers every week. find deals on electronics and technology. and save on tickets to exciting concerts and shows. [ taxi whistle ] c'mon, guys, the millers just got their cards, too! [ male announcer ] check out the possibilities. aarpdiscounts.com. where the deals are. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business.

my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. together to confront our challenges and campaigners, they seek to divide and to conquer and to orchestrate crisis after crisis after crisis to exploit.

mr. president, we admit it, you won. accept it. now step away from the teleprompter and do your job. >> no, that's not tina fey, that's the real sarah palin, mocking president obama's use of the teleprompter. the president was not the only one she targeted. she criticized new york city's mayor michael bloomberg on that ban on oversized sodas. she had a big gulp at one point. she slurped while the crowd cheered. we are still waiting to find out precisely what was in the cup. when we find out, we'll pass that information along to you. elections are getting more and more expensive every cycle, the center for responsive politics has come out with a new revised price tag for the 2012 election cycle. and are you ready for this? $6.3 billion, with a b.

it was the most expensive election ever. it cost $2.6 billion to pick the president, $3.6 billion spent by candidates for congressional races and other groups. that's a lot of money. and the first lady as a covergirl? she's on the cover of "vogue" magazine. we're hearing that she wore her own clothes, and this is not the first time for mrs. obama. she graced that cover back in 2009, as well. coming up, the brain trust is here. we're going to take a look at what rob portman's turn on same-sex marriage will mean for the gop, if anything. first, though, there's a former hacker here. he's talking right now, trying to mac my executive producer. we'll talk about why we need to worry about the cyber attack that's being waged on our nation's computer systems. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. first kid

you ready? [ female announcer ] second kid by their second kid, every mom is an expert and more likely to choose luvs. after thousands of diaper changes, they know what works. luvs lock away wetness better than huggies for a fraction of the cost live, learn, & get luvs.

right now, all eyes are on a courtroom in steubenville, ohio, where the trial continues for two teenagers accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. the court is waiting to hear from the defendants and the accuser. that trial is expected to continue tomorrow. good saturday to you. here's a quick look at some of the other top stories. nbc news confirmed that nfl wide receiver donte' stallworth was in a hot air balloon near miami when it hit some power lines. his girlfriend and another person were also reportedly riding in that balloon. pope francis took the stage in rome earlier today, talking to the press for the first time since being elected pope. francis charmed the crowd and

told them he's been working very hard all week. and celebrations are under way for st. patrick's day. you can see there, neither rain, neither sleet, neither snow, 2 million new yorkers attending the 252nd annual st. patrick's day parade, going on right outside the rockefeller center studio. it was quite the show. the nation's top intelligence officials say america must be better prepared for cyber attacks. officials told an intelligence committee this week, attacks on our computer networks are on the rise and they pose a very serious threat to the nation's economic and national security. i want to bring in kevin, a former world renowned hacker, he spent nearly five years in prison for computer related crimes. he's now on the other side of the table as a computer security

consultant with his own firm. good to see you, sir. thanks for being with me, kevin. >> thank you for having me on your show. >> james clapper, the director of the national intelligence, told the senate tuesday as the capabilities of cyber criminals increase, so does the threat. take a listen. >> these capabilities put all sectors of our country at risk from government and private networks to critical infrastructures. >> how vulnerable are we right now? and how vulnerable is the nation's critical infrastructure to cyber attacks? >> i think quite vulnerable. there's not a day that goes by we don't hear about a cyber attack in the media. >> just this week, the we believe sites of jc morgan chase were hit. attacks to take down hsbc and others, as well. are the increasing number of

attacks likely to be state sponsored or criminal in nacher? >> it's hard to tell? i think there's definitely a mix. there's definitely state sponsored hacking from china. that's a well-known fact. and we have it domestically. it's a global problem, not just in one particular area. i believe it's going to continue, because the security of our systems is really not -- it's not that great. that's why we hear about these hacks in the media all the time. >> why is it not that great? is it we're not spending the money it takes or is there money to it than that? >> the hackers are ahead of the industry. they've already figured out how to bypass anti-virus software. there's always a way to get into a network or system. don't forget, a hacker only has to find one hole to get in one vulnerability. but as a company or a government agency, you have to know them all so you can shore up your

defenses. so it's really difficult to protect these days. and the industry is trying to catch up with the hackers. >> how easy is it for someone to get ahold of someone's credit information, for example? >> well, it's quite easy, because we have no privacy. it's simple to get anyone's social security number. >> we give you my executive producer's name and you went online and stole her information. is that right? >> no, she gave me permission to look it up in a database that i have access to, and i was able to identify her address, social security, date of birth and other information on private investigator databases, which are available for anyone that has a credit card. this information is bought and sold every day. it cost 25 to 50 cents to get

the information and it's 100% legal. >> and you were able to get her social security number? >> that's correct. criminal organizations could use these services to get enough information to get -- to be able to pose as that individual to a credit bureau, and they authenticate you but asking you a few questions. these questions are not too hard to find the answer to, and it allows a criminal to obtain that personal's credit report. that's probably what happened last week or whenever it happened when we heard about these credit reports exposed. >> kevin, i want to apologize for accusing you of hacking. appreciate your insight, sir. >> thank you. so today we're starting a new project here on our show. something that we're calling the biggest brain. here's the idea. we've got our brain trust segment coming up, and i'm going to keep score. it's going to be arbitrary, actually.

attend of the discussion, we'll crown someone the biggest brain and we will let him or her share what's on their mind. we'll give them 60 seconds to go off on a rant. but for now, the first thing that's on my brain, senator rob portman's big shift on same-sex marriage after his son told him he was gay. in a piece published yesterday, he said, i've changed my wind on the question of marriage for same-sex couples. as we strive as a nation to form a more perfect union, i believe all sons and daughters ought to have the same opportunity to experience the joy and stability of marriage. his position on same-sex marriage puts him in odds with his party. john boehner told abc that he wouldn't be changing his position, even if his own child came out. >> i believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. it's what i grew up with. it's what i believe.

it's what my church teaches me. and i can't imagine that position would ever change. >> with me to talk about it, the brain trust, aisha moody-mills. columnist bob franken. and the and matt welch stuck around. thanks for being with me. >> always great to be here. >> what do you make of the senator's change of heart, first of all? and do you think it is in any way, shape, form or fashion going to change the debate inside the gop about same-sex marriage? >> well, congratulations to rob portman for coming around and for evolving. it's a really tough thing to publicly change your mind about an issue that is as divisive as marriage equality. i think what is really touching is he's leading with his heart. one of the things he said is he consulted dick cheney about it and dick chainy said follow your heard. i think he's doing the right thing in supporting his son. and i can't imagine how the

republican party, if you look at the rhetoric that's been going on, we just heard what john boehner had to say about this. i can't imagine how republicans, how conservatives can turn their back on their own children, which is what they're saying, that we would discriminate against our own children because we have these principles that we're holding so steadfast to. so i hope he's inspiring other people to step forth, also. >> this is the latest politician to change his mind about same-sex marriage. the president did it last year. do we think that what's happening here is that these politicians, like a lot of americans, are just starting to come in contact with more people who are different types of people in their lives, or is there a political calculation of work here, as well? >> there's always a political calculation, but i think it's a little thing called progress.

we are supposed to evolve as a species. i think that the portman situation points out about how personal this is. and to be perfectly honest, it's not the kind of thing where governments should be in the way on this kind of thing. it is very personal. it was brought to the forefront by the fact that rob portman's son came out as gay. it's something that has come up before. and quite frankly, if somebody wants to have a harsher view like john boehner does, that's his personal right, but it is not something that should be influenced by the law or interference from the government. >> if the supreme court does what many suspect it might do, and really put the end to this discussion in terms of legislation to a certain extent, if the supreme court takes it off the table, is that a big win for republicans, if we have to stop talking about this? >> probably. they know in their heart of hearts that they lost the issue. the social conservatives i want to say know they've lost the issue. you saw c-pac this week, marko

rubio said we should take a federalist to gay marriage. rand paul said you need not just economic liberty, but personal liberty, as well. there's a definite change of heart happening there, as well. i'm sure they would love that issue to go away, because younger voters, since 2008, just don't vote republican anymore. that's new, and it's not just obama. it's for congress. and part of that is perceived intolerance for republicans at communities that are not like old republicans, particularly gays. remember that in 2004, the republican party, karl rove thought it was bully electoral strategy to campaign on a bunch of state initiatives banning same-sex marriage and it worked in 2004 because the culture hadn't changed that much to that point. but the culture has led since then and it's biting them now. >> we'll take a quick break. up next, who's in, who's out, who's ahead at c-pac, as well. it's been quite the show.

we'll talk about it right after this. morning, brian! love your passat! um. listen, gary. i bought the last one. nice try. says right here you can get one for $199 a month. you can't believe the lame-stream media, gary. they're all gone. maybe i'll get one. [ male announcer ] now everyone's going to want one. you can't have the same car as me, gary! i'm gettin' one. nope! [ male announcer ] volkswagen springtoberfest is here and there's no better time to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease one of four volkswagen models for under $200 a month. visit vwdealer.com today.

bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. do we hano.a mower? a trimmer? no. we got nothing. we just bought our first house, we're on a budget. we're not ready for spring. well let's get you ready. very nice. you see these various colors. we got workshops every saturday. yes, maybe a little bit over here. this spring, take on more lawn for less. not bad for our first spring. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get three bags of earthgro mulch, a special buy at just $10.

bob, we'll start with you. i want to talk about the c-pac straw poll. last year, mitt romney won that vote by about 38 %, followed by rick santorum. what can we expect this year and do they matter at all? >> first of all, no. but second of all, the world is breathlessly awaiting to see what the results are. because 100 years from now, that's all anybody is still going to be talking and it. what will be interesting to me to see if rand paul inherits the straw poll victory from his father, who would regularly win these things when mitt romney wasn't.

you remember mitt romney. it's going to be interesting to see if rand paul does it, or if sarah palin manages to win this thing, and do not count her out. she just may be deciding to try whether she's going to run for president again. and we can't forget donald trump. >> no, he's not. what struck you about it most? >> are you asking me? >> no, no, aisha. >> one of the things that struck me, as much as republicans spent all their rhetoric wanting to reach out to minors, et cetera, the racist base of the party still festers. and has been given a platform at cpac. you saw this week where there was someone who jumped up in the middle of the panel and started defending slavery, and got a lot

of other people supporting his attitude and then he said, most of the tea party supports all the things i am saying. so i think cpac is showing us the ugly underbelly of the party still rears its head. i don't know what they're going to do to squash that. but they're not going to move far in the next presidential if they don't. >> i had a buddy of mine this week, we were talking about cpac. he said one thing the democrats do better than the republicans is they manage to keep their crazies in check. it does seem like the gop has a hard time, because both parties have nuts. but it seems like their nuts, they seem to all show up en masse. >> they hold their conventions further away from washington, d.c. so that the political establishment media can't play shoot the wing nut, which they always do every year. there's a very legitimate thing happening in the republican party. probably you're going to see in

the top five, if not the top three, rand paul, who has serious momentum right now, ted cruz and marko rubio. those are three people who ran against the republican establishment, each one of those, banded together against them, yet they are loved by the grassroots. there is an argument happening right now on planet conservatism over what should be their values going forward. there's no such debate happening right now in that way on the democratic side of the aisle. it might help for unity. i'm not sure that it helps for intellectual development. i think there should be more argument among democrats, talking about some of the things that rand paul was talking and in his 13-hour filibuster, things like civil liberties. so we're seeing yes, the koo conversations are out, but there's always an interesting discussion happening. >> go ahead, bob. >> today's kook is tomorrow's

prophet. rand paul is regarded by many as being a kook, and his speech ended only because he had to go to the bathroom. but he may be somebody who becomes very popular within the republican party. >> we're -- >> this is about mobilizing. this is to see who can get out their base for the straw poll, and that is what is going to be telling. >> quick break here. when we come back, we'll crown the biggest brain. the first-ever biggest brain. this is a very big deal. well, not really. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro.

just like you. go national. go like a pro. she pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. and she's not exactly tidy. even if she gets a stain she'll wear it for a week straight. so i use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. since i'm the one who has to do the laundry. i do what any expert dad would do. i let her play sheriff. i got 20 minutes to life. you are free to go. [ dad ] tide and downy. great on their own, even better together. [ slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums

as we mentioned, we're going to let one of our regular brain trustees have a moment. today, we have decided to crown aisha moody-mills first-ever biggest brain. no rhyme or reason, and there's

been no online voting. but go ahead, tell us what's on your brain. you have 60 seconds. >> well, for weeks now, the coverage on the effects of sequestration have centered around countdown clocks and canceled white house tours. but the real story here are the countless american families that are having to cancel dinner and send their children to bed hungry because of these cuts. it's leaving hundreds of thousands of americans out in the cold, and they're not the ones who are standing outside the white house gates with cameras. low income women and children, students with disabilities, veterans, seniors and the poor pay the largest price for sequestration. we've got 600,000 women and children that will lose nutrition assistance and 125,000 families that will lose housing and more than 100,000 formally homeless people will be at risk to live back on the streets.

so instead of focusing on their political chess game with the white house, our reglators need to recognize that sequestration is not sticking it to the president, it's sticking it to the most vulnerable in our country. >> that was impressive. while you were speaking, you should know that matt welch here, you were agreeing or disagreeing? >> i think i was thinking the probably a little bit more about the $100 less that americans are taking home on their paychecks because of the fiscal cliff deal on january 1, which no one talks about in terms of hurting american's pocketbook in the same way they talk about the sequester. >> we need to talk about it all. >> bob franken, you can have the last word. >> i want to congratulate aisha. this is huge. >> first-ever.

>> i should point out that i'm a very sore loser, so i would watch out. but just the last word, which is that what you were talking about with the sequestration is just another reminder to the american people that we have such a dysfunctional government, and which ever party comes up with somebody that can promise that is probably going to be successful politically. >> you like what we did there? we said aisha had the biggest brain but still gave both of you some time. >> it's just not enough, man. >> you are a sore loser, bob franken. thanks to all of you. we certainly hope you'll come back in the future. thanks to you well at home for joining us this saturday afternoon. come back tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. we'll be previewing the

president's middle east trip. and i'll be joined by shawn spicer. he'll be previewing the republican party's autopsy of 2012. they're going to release that on monday. we'll have a preview of that. that should be a fascinating conversation. until then, keep it right here throughout the latest news. have a fantastic saturday night. those hands. oooh la la! what's your secret? dawn? [ female announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty improves the look and feel of hands in 5 uses. love it, or get double your money back.